University of Pardubice

Faculty of Arts and Philosophy

Deparment of English and American Studies

Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls

in Czech Translations

Bachelor Paper

Author: Markéta Silná

Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Bohuslav Mánek, CSc.

2007

Univerzita Pardubice

Fakulta filozofická

Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Ernest Heminway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls

in Czech Translations

Ernest Hemingway a jeho dílo Komu zvoní hrana

v českých překladech

Bakalářská práce

Autor: Markéta Silná

Vedoucí: doc. PhDr. Bohuslav Mánek, CSc.

2007

Prohlašuji:

Tuto práci jsem vypracovala samostatně. Veškeré literární prameny a informace, které

jsem v práci vyuţila, jsou uvedeny v seznamu pouţité literatury.

Byla jsem seznámena s tím, ţe se na moji práci vztahují práva a povinnosti vyplývající

ze zákona č. 121/2000 Sb., autorský zákon, zejména se skutečností, ţe Univerzita

Pardubice má právo na uzavření licenční smlouvy o uţití této práce jako školního díla

podle § 60 odst. 1 autorského zákona, a s tím, ţe pokud dojde k uţití této práce mnou

nebo bude poskytnuta licence o uţití jinému subjektu, je Univerzita Pardubice

oprávněna ode mne poţadovat přiměřený příspěvek na úhradu nákladů, které na

vytvoření díla vynaloţila, a to podle okolností aţ do jejich skutečné výše.

Souhlasím s prezenčním zpřístupněním své práce v Univerzitní knihovně Univerzity

Pardubice.

V Pardubicích dne 30. 03. 2007

Markéta Silná

Abstrakt

Předmětem této bakalářské práce se stal americký spisovatel Ernest Hemingway,

a zejména jeho celosvětově známé dílo „Komu zvoní hrana“ v českých překladech.

Tento román byl vydán v roce 1940 v USA a poprvé přeloţen do českého jazyka v roce

1946 dvěma českými překladatelkami A. Sonkovou a Z. Zinkovou. Dále byl přeloţen

A. Humplíkem v roce 1958 a v roce 1962 J. Valjou. První a poslední český překlad

tohoto díla se staly tématem zkoumání, a dále předmětem porovnávání rozdílů

v přístupech k jednotlivým specifickým znakům Hemingwayovy tvorby.

Hemingwayova tvorba je typická svojí strohostí, stručností, limitovaným výběrem slov,

vyhýbání se sloţitým přídavným jménům, a zejména v knize „Komu zvoní hrana―

častým výskytem španělských slov a citací. Výzkum pro účely této bakalářské práce se

nejprve zaměřil na dlouhé vypravěčské pasáţe, které většinou obsahují tok myšlenek

hlavních hrdinů a jsou vyjádřeny jednou větou mnohdy tvořící dlouhé odstavce. Oba

české překlady přistoupily k této problematice rozdílně a řešily jejich překlad dvěma

různými způsoby. Další část výzkumu se soustředila na specifika daná španělským

prostředím a jazykem, který se v díle často vyskytuje. Hemingway v tomto díle záměrně

rozlišoval jiţ dávno zaniklou formu vykání a tykání, aby více přiblíţil španělské

prostředí, kde se tyto dvě formy oslovování zachovaly tak, jako je tomu v českém

jazyce. Překladatelé opět přistoupili k překladu těchto specifik s určitými rozdíly, které

byly jistě způsobeny dobou vzniku jednotlivých překladů. Dále se práce zaměřuje na

překlad reálií a v závěrečné části porovnává dva české překlady z pohledu počtu slov

uţitých pro jednu danou pasáţ.

Abstract

The main object of this bachelor paper s to investigate the translation issues in

the American writer Ernest Hemingway world well-known work ―For Whom the Bell

Tolls‖ in Czech translations. This novel was first published in 1940 in the USA and first

translated to Czech in 1946 by two women translators A. Sonková and Z. Zinková.

Subsequently it was translated by A. Humplík in 1958 and in 1962 by J. Valja. The first

and the last Czech translations were used for a research and a comparison of the

different approaches to individual specific features of the Hemingway’s art.

Hemingway’s writing is typical for its strictness, briefness, limited use of words,

avoidance of complicated adjectives, and especially in the book ―For Whom the Bell

Tolls‖ a frequent occurrence of Spanish words and citations. The research done for the

purpose of this bachelor paper firstly concentrated on passages of long narrating, which

usually contains a flow of thoughts of the main characters and are connected into one

sentence forming long paragraphs. Both of the Czech translations dealt with this

problem differently and solved its translations in two distinct ways. The next part of the

research focused on the uniqueness of the text caused by the specialties of Spanish

setting and language, which frequently appear in this work very. Hemingway

purposefully differentiated between the Early Modern English form of formal

addressing which is no longer used in English and second person form of addressing to

depict the Spanish setting, because Spanish distinguishes these two forms of addressing

as Czech does. The translators again adopted these specifics with certain differences,

which were certainly caused by the historical atmosphere of their origin. Hereafter the

paper concentrates on translations of realia and finally it compares the extent and

amount of words used in one specific part of text.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF TRANSLATION ...................................................... 3

2. HEMINGWAY’S LIFE ............................................................................................ 4

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF HEMINGWAY’S STYLE ............................................. 9

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOVEL ............................................................... 10

4.1 Main themes of the novel ............................................................................... 10

4.2 Resemblance between characters from the novel and real people from

Hemingway’s life ........................................................................................... 11

5. THE CZECH TRANSLATORS OF HEMINGWAY’S ―FOR WHOM THE BELL

TOLLS‖ ................................................................................................................... 12

6. COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN TWO CZECH

TRANSLATIONS .................................................................................................. 13

6.1 Passages of long narrating .............................................................................. 13

6.2 Introduction of the direct speech .................................................................... 16

6.3 Means of emotively colored expressions........................................................ 18

6.4 The uniqueness of the text caused by the specialties of Spanish setting and

language .......................................................................................................... 21

6. 4. 1 Thou as a form of familiar addressing in an English history ....................... 22

6.4. 2 Spanish divergences in addressing ................................................................ 23

6. 4. 3 Czech translations of addressing .................................................................. 24

6.5 Use of Spanish and other foreign citations and their translations to Czech ... 29

6.6 The importance of adequacy........................................................................... 30

6. 7 Comparison of the extent of one individual part of text ................................. 31

7. RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH ........................................................................... 34

1

„No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of

the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if

Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any

mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never

send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.‖

John Donne, ―Meditation XVII‖ of Devotions tupon Emergent Occasions

The main object of this bachelor paper is a comparison of two different Czech

translations of a famous novel written by the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Ernest

Hemingway. The paper focuses on Ernest Hemingway’s life and work and their

connections to one of his pieces of work which became very famous all over the world.

As the introductory citation suggests, the work which is being analyzed from the point

of its two Czech translations is titled ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖.

The book ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ was first published in 1940 in the United

States of America and six years later it was first translated to the Czech language. The

first Czech translation was done by Alena Sonková and Zora Zinková in 1946 and then

reedited two more times in 1946 and 1947, the second translation of this book was

produced by Alois Humplík in 1958 and the newest translation was first published in

1962 by Jiří Valja. Valja’s translation was reedited in 1970, 1977, 1981, and in 1987.

Marie Fojtová modified Valja’s translation which was edited in 1970.

This bachelor paper concentrates on a comparison of the first Czech translation

done by Sonková and Zinková and the last one translated by Valja, because it is

interesting to investigate the individual differences in a range of sixteen years. The

translators were definitely influenced by the time they lived in and approached the

translations with reference to different linguistic development, historical background

and political situation.

For the purpose of this paper, research was carried out which focused on the life

and work of Ernest Hemingway. Initially a short theoretical background from the

translational problematic is described. After the theoretical background a short

2

description of Hemingway’s life is presented, which is important to understand when

analyzing his work. There were some striking moments in his life which influenced his

writing and indisputably helped to improve a style of writing in many ways. His life

experience was not only helpful in including autobiographical elements into his stories

but also the truthful experience enriched the writing by its verity of the environment

described. The basic characteristics and typical features of Hemingway’s work are

provided, which were important to specify before studying the translators´ job of

transferring them into the Czech language. The paper focuses on describing the most

significant attributes of Ernest Hemingway’s work and depicts the differences in their

translations into Czech.

3

1. The basic principle of translation

The translations of a fiction literature were traditionally studied only from

the esthetic point of view but this approach has changed in the second half of the

20th

century when a linguistic approach started to be taken into consideration. Later

on both of these approaches have been connected into one parallel method which

considers mainly the pragmatic aspect of a translation. Nowadays, the most

emphasized role of a translator is to get over cross-cultural barriers. The older view

on translation did not also differentiate between equivalence and identity. The

individual differences were uniquely determined as mistakes and were used for

a support of the opinion that translatability of a text is not possible. Current theory

views the problematic in a wider context and that is why it approaches these

translational shifts differently. This theory is based on the necessity of transliteration

of information from a different semiotic system; as far as the invariance of the

information is preserved. Anton Popovič differentiates four types of translational

shifts in his book ―Téoria umeleckeho prekladu‖:

Constitutive shift of translation is a necessary shift which arises from the difference

between two languages (original and translational). It is understood as functional and

objective shift.

Individual shift is a system of individual divergences motivated by the translator’s

expressionist inclinations or idiolect.

Theme shift arises from a substitution of realia, expressive connection and idioms from

the source language to a target language. This translational shift favors connotation for

denotation and is usually called a substitution.

Negative shift arises when the original piece of work is not understood. It can be

motivated by language ignorance or by a disobedience of the rules of equivalency and it

is expressed by a non-relevant translation or by stylistic emasculation of the original.

4

2. Hemingway’s life

Ernest Hemingway was born on 21st July in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He grew

up in this Chicago area but his family spent considerable time in the area around Bear

Lake in Northern Michigan. The region around Bear Lake had a very wild atmosphere.

It was an ideal place for relaxation and also life there was much slower than in Oak

Park. Ernest’s father enjoyed every stay in this hidden area, where he could rest from

the everyday necessity of restricting himself by a public opinion. Mr. Hemingway

taught Ernest to love this countryside and evoked in Ernest an interest in nature and all

its secrets. It is described by D. and I. Machala in the book “To pravé místo (Reportér

Hemingway)” that an eight-year old Hemingway was able to name all the trees, flowers,

birds, fish and animals which appeared in the Central West (1989:55). His father

believed that it was a good sign for the future development of his son. On the other hand

Mrs. Hemingway dreamt about a different future for her oldest son. She made him sing

in a choir and later on she decided that Ernest would become a violoncellist. The

different characters of both of the parents were very striking in Ernest’s future

development. His father wanted to give him freedom and tried to evoke a sensibility

towards nature in him. His mother wanted to bring up a prodigy.

The young Ernest studied at high school in Oak Park and any activity he

approached was done with a sense of ambition. The high school was the first place

where his talent and abilities for writing were discovered. Hear he produced his first

journalist attempts and literary pieces. The first attempts of writing already possessed

some of the characteristics of his later works: briefness, perfect composition, and

freshness of style. It avoided sentiment and exaggerated lyrics which would show

a beginner’s typical features. He started writing poetry and did not hesitate to contribute

to a school magazine with his newspaper columns, reportages and short annotations. As

Hemingway grew up, he wanted to find the reality of the world; he tended to learning

by experience and this desire stayed with him his entire life.

In 1917 Hemingway made a crucial decision because he decided to become

a journalist. His parents were not very excited but at last they approved his idea and sent

him to Kansas City. Thanks to one relative, Ernest could start writing for a very

5

reputable newspaper called ―Kansas City Star‖. The ―Kansas City Star‖ belonged to six

most prestigious newspapers in the whole USA at that time. This period of time he

spent in the editors of ―Star‖ had a very dominant importance for his future writing and

journalist career.

Hemingway was not only interested in the events in the USA but also in the

course of events in Europe. He was always excited when hearing about Europe and had

a dream to go there as soon as possible. He did not have to wait too long to fulfill his

dream, in May 1918 Hemingway and his friend cleared a port on a French ship in

Chicago and were heading to the harbor at Bordeaux. Hemingway worked in Europe for

the Red Cross and after a few months he was injured and had to go through a long

recovery in a hospital. When the First World War ended in 1919, Hemingway returned

home and was surprisingly glorified as a hero, that made him feel good but after

―opening his eyes‖ he realized that the reality was different.

After an argument with his family, he left for Canada where he wrote for the

―Toronto Daily Star‖ but did not stay there for long. He moved back to Chicago, rented

an apartment with his friend and during this time he met with famous author Sherwood

Anderson. In 1921 Hemingway married for the first time with Hadley Richardson and

in December 1921 the young couple set off for Europe. When visiting Spain,

Hemingway did a lot of fishing and wrote a report about it for ―Toronto Star Weekly‖.

As D. and I. Machala mention in their book ―To pravé místo: Reportér Hemingway‖, at

that time nobody reading this particular report could anticipate that they were reading

the first brief abstract of his famous novel ―The Old Man and the Sea‖ (1989:78). Ernest

and Hadley lived in Paris and found many new friends; one of them was Pauline

Pfeiffer, who later became Hemingway’s second wife and also very famous writer

Gertrude Stein who helped to improve Hemingway’s writing. Hemingway also started

to favor Switzerland and kept on writing excellent reports from his visits abroad for

―Toronto Star Weekly‖. After the First World War when Greece waged a war upon

Turkey Hemingway was sent by Toronto publishing to this war to report the

happenings. He stayed in Constantinople and wrote interesting reports about his

observations from this war. But unfortunately malaria and other health problems made

him to return back to Paris earlier than he expected.

6

Hemingway loved traveling and was excited about every new idea of visiting

new places. He enjoyed describing to his friends’ telling about their experiences from

Spain, a wild country undiscovered at that time by tourist offering popular bullfighting.

His decision to leave for Spain as soon as possible was supported by G. Stein’s remark

about Pampalona city and Fiesta San Fermin which is attended by the best matadors

every year. Hemingway loved Spain and the days spent in Pampalona were glamorous

for him. Most of the time between the years 1921 and 1927 when Hemingway left

Chicago and lived in Europe and at the beginning of 1927 when his novel ―Fiesta‖ was

published, Hemingway felt that he was living a ―double-dealing‖ life. He was making

decisions between life in Europe and in the USA. He was dubious between Paris, Seina,

bridges and cafes in which he met great friends who learnt him a lot about literature and

a small village in Austria, where he had space to do sports and write in a quiet

environment. But his main problem was to decide between journalist work which

earned him money for him and his family because his first son Bumby was born in 1924

and between literature which he loved but did not have much experience with it. This

inner duel was also symbolized by a love problem between two women. Subconsciously

he felt that he was approaching an end, he left his first wife, got divorced, left Paris and

married for the second time. His second son Patrick was born in the USA and

Hemingway started living in Key West where he bought a farmer house. An important

event happened by the end of 1928, which affected Hemingway very deeply and

penetrated into his writing as well. His father committed suicide. In 1931 Hemingway’s

third son Gregory was born. Cuba became a part of Hemingway’s life and inspired him

in many of his works. He first traveled to Cuba in 1932 and in this year a new magazine

for men started to be published in the USA. Hemingway was one of the first to have

a chance to contribute with his articles, notes and write-ups. The new magazine was

―Esquire‖. The desire for traveling had never left him which is confirmed by his first

trip to Africa in 1933 and his working trip to Spain. When he departed Madrid in 1937

the Spanish Civil War was already in high run, it was a fight between the Fascists and

the Spanish Republicans. This period of Hemingway’s life was very important, because

on the basis of his experience from it he wrote ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖.

Hemingway’s operation in Spain brought him new acknowledgements about a sense of

this war, he studied the war situation and plans of the Republicans command and was

7

meeting with people on the battlefield. He changed his mind of working as an

independent war correspondent. He was fascinated by the enthusiasm of the German

antifascists out of which many of them were Communists. He immediately found out

that a defense of Spanish Republic was one of his moral obligations. He approached the

war by going to the fronts and meeting the soldiers and guerillas in the mountains. He

also had a chance to talk to officers about war operations. Many of the people

Hemingway ran across in this war became an inspiration for particular characters in his

book. During his stay at the Spanish Civil War, he met his prospective wife Martha

Gelhorn, who worked there as a war reporter as well.

Hemingway left Spain in 1939 after the loss by Spanish Republicans and felt

that this loss was his personal failure as well. Hemingway returned to the USA but soon

after that he moved to Cuba where he worked on the book ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖. It

took eighteen months to finish this novel, which was published in 1940 shortly before

Hemingway’s 40th

birthday; and later on filmed by Paramount.

His marriage was breaking up and in 1940 the press announced news about

Hemingway’s divorce. When the Second World War started, Hemingway was in

America and his third wife worked as a war reporter in Europe which made him feel

nervous and envious because he had the feeling that he was not in the right place. But in

1944 he traveled to London to be closer to the war and happened to be present at the

liberation of his beloved city Paris in the same year. His wife was no longer an

equivalent partner to him; they were more like competitors with each other, which was

why his third marriage did not have a long continuation. He divorced in 1945 and

realized that he wanted to take care of his three sons and his new partner Mary Welsh

who he married in 1946. Hemingway lived in Cuba, wrote new books, and received the

Pulitzer Price for ―The Old Man and the Sea‖. Soon after that he traveled to Africa for

a second time, where he almost died but was strong enough to recover and in 1954 was

awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He believed that this appreciation should had

come much earlier and refused to be present at the Nobel Prize ceremony. Since then

there was not any happiness in his life, he was not able to write as he used to and did not

show any interest. Hemingway’s whole life was accompanied by alcohol which

undoubtedly contributed to his decision to commit suicide in July 1961.

8

Ernest Hemingway wrote twelve novels, nine works of non-fiction literature, ten

short story collections and sixteen movies were filmed on the basis of Hemingway’s

works.

9

3. Characteristics of Hemingway’s style

Hemingway pioneered a new individualized style of writing that is almost

commonplace nowadays. He did away with all the flamboyant prose of 19th

century

Victorian era which was typical and replaced it with a lean, clear prose based on action

rather than reflection. His style of writing is sometimes characterized as artless. He

employed a technique by which he would omit essential information of the story under

the belief that omission can sometimes add strength to a narrative. It was a style of

subtlety which contrasted greatly with the themes he wrote about (for example war,

blood, bull fighting, or boxing). He introduced a unique way of narration where

emotionality plays an important role. His unmistakable style of writing is typical for its

limited use of words, short and very common vocabularies, avoidance of complicated

adjectives, and especially in ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ a frequent occurrence of foreign

words (Spanish, French, and German). Simple or compound sentences predominate

with the coordinating conjunction ―and‖. The sequence of relatively short sentences

produces a sense of rapidity or dynamism. Another technique Ernest Hemingway used

to create the effect of vitality was to substitute active verbs for static ones, or employ

gerundive or participial forms. Like the sentence structure, the diction is also quite

elementary and favors plain familiar and monosyllabic words. Fewer adjectives and

adverbs appear than in other literary styles or in real-life discourse. It can look very

simple and curt but not unpleasant. The adjectives vary from highly specific and

concrete terms such as names, numbers, colors, to the generalized and subjective, for

example fine, lovely, good. His style is typical for its economy in the use of verbs and

the use of spoken English is a striking element of his writing as well. His books are very

popular among learners who study English as their second language because

Hemingway’s style of writing is readable even for not very advanced learners. Many

students of English read his books to improve English without being worried about not

understanding the plot and context. Some of the words might be difficult but the style

allows fluent reading without any difficulties.

10

4. Characteristics of the novel

The novel takes place during four days of the Spanish Civil War. A young

American Robert Jordan, a specialist in demolitions and explosives, is sent to meet

a group of guerrillas in the mountains. The Republicans have assigned Robert the

dangerous and difficult task of blowing up a Fascist-controlled bridge as a part of

a larger Republican offensive. The story is told by a third-person selective-omniscient

narrator. The work is further after developed by direct conversations between the

characters, and by extensive back-and-forth mental conversations within the mind of

Robert Jordan.

Robert meets with Pablo the leader of the camp in the mountains, who greets

him with hostility and opposes the bridge operation because he believes it endangers the

guerrillas’ safety. There are seven other inhabitants with one woman whose name is

Pilar and the camp also shelters a young girl named Maria, whom a band of Fascists

raped not long before. Robert and Maria are immediately drawn to each other, which

brings a romance to the story. The preparations of the explosion become problematic

because of lack of people, personal empathies and Fascists attacks happening in the

mountains. In the last part of the novel, the plot is split into two parallel actions, the

preparations for the attack and the course of Andrés, a guerilla who must take a message

across the lines to a Republican general.

By the end Jordan’s task is accomplished but he is badly wounded and says

good-bye to his love Maria and to the fellows who survived the attack and contemplates

suicide.

4.1 Main themes of the novel

The main theme of the novel is death. Robert Jordan subconsciously feels that he

will not survive the explosion; his comrades are certain they will die in the operation;

and Pablo is also sure of his and his fellows’ deaths. The theme of death is connected

with a motive of suicide, the characters including Robert would each prefer death over

capture and are prepared to kill themselves, have someone else kill them, or to fulfill the

11

request of a companion. The topic of suicide plays an important role in Hemingway’s

writing because the problem of suicide implies from his life experience. His father

committed suicide, many of his relatives as well and Ernest Hemingway did away with

himself too. Another important theme is war because each character is affected by its

cause. Even though many of the characters in ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ take a cynical

view of human nature and feel fatigued by the war, the novel still holds out hope for

a romantic theme which is the love connection of Robert and Maria.

4.2 Resemblance between characters from the novel and real

people from Hemingway’s life

Many of the characters and their stories are very similar to some people

Hemingway met during his stays in Spain. He admitted that he was inspired by many of

his friends and acquaintances and used them as protagonists in his novel. Some of them

appear with their real names, some of them feature with nicknames which are not

difficult to resolve. As Baker points out in his book ―Ernest Hemingway‖, General

Lucasze from the Twelfth international brigade is described into the smallest details as

he really was when Hemingway met him in the war. The girl Maria carries a name of

a nurse who Hemingway met in spring 1938. Her physical appearance including fair

hair was very much similar to an appearance of a woman Hemingway used to love

(2001:277). The main character Jordan has a similar personality to Hemingway himself

which proves that the novel ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ is partly an autobiographical

novel. Robert’s parents and Hemingway’s parents share enough similarities to say that

Hemingway’s mother and father served as models for writing. For example Jordan’s

father shot himself as Mr. Hemingway senior did as well.

12

5. The Czech translators of Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”

Alena Sonková and Zora Zinková were Czech translators who are not

included in the official database called “Database of Czech Artistic Translations

after 1945” so unfortunately no relevant and accessible information about them is

available. Their translation of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was edited three times

during the years 1946 and 1947 in a publishing company “Fr. Borový” in Prague.

The Czech writer and translator Josef Bubeník who translated books from

English, French, Russian and Slovak was born on the 22nd

of July in 1914 and died

fifty three years later on March the 17th

1967. He wrote and translated his books

using a pseudonym Jiří Valja. He became a lawyer at the Charles University in 1938

and soon after that started to work as a cultural journalist for a Czech magazine

called ―České slovo‖ and later on he was employed as an editor in a publishing

company ―Český kompas‖. During the years between 1944 and 1945 Valja had to

participate in the Second World War. When the war finished he worked at Ministry

of Information. In 1947 he joined the editor’s office of ―Lidové noviny‖ and also

cooperated with the translational department of the Federation of Czech writers. In

1956 he gave a priority to a freelance occupation as writer and began writing poetry,

short stories, and novels and continued with editing stories that have a psychological

element. He is also an author of many plays for radio production, theatre plays and

literary pieces. Since 1950’s he devoted most of his time to translating poetry and

literature, especially of Anglo-American origin. Valja translated prose, mainly

modern Anglo-American novels by W. Faulkner and G. Greene. He translated

Hemingway’s ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ which was first published in 1962 in an

editor’s office ―Mladá fronta” in Prague, later on in Odeon 1970, Prague, Svoboda

1977, Prague, ―Naše vojsko” 1981, Prague, and ―Vyšehrad” 1987 in Prague. Valja

also translated ―The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway‖ published in Prague in an

editor’s office ―SNKLU” in 1965, and in an editor’s office named ―Odeon” 1974

and 1978, Prague.

13

6. Comparison of individual differences in two Czech translations

According to the composite authors of the book ―Překládání a čeština‖, the

evaluation and comparison of individual translations is necessarily influenced by the

fact that an invariable original piece of work has variable translated versions. The

differences of the individual versions of one specific work are affected by diverse

objective and subjective factors, as for example place and time of the translated text’s

origin, its volume, its pragmatic aim (which is primarily an effort to take effect on the

reader) or translator’s individual (eventually historically conditioned) stylistic key.

Another factor which should be monitored is the extent and quality of the total

approximation with comparison to the prototype (1994:30). The differences between

two individual versions of translation are investigated with an aim to describe in what

ways they parallel to the original and in what ways they are dissimilar from the original

but also one from each other.

As it was already stated above in the introduction, the two versions of translation

investigated for the purpose of this bachelor paper were the oldest and the most recent

translations. The reason for choosing these two exact versions is a time factor which

plays an important role when comparing two versions. The time variants of translations

result from the reason that a translation becomes obsolete quite quickly and it is

important to renew the translation for every generation of the readers. The factor of time

is also important to consider especially when translating an individual original piece of

work to a target language, because a shorter or longer time gap between the original and

the translated version always exists.

6.1 Passages of long narrating

Hemingway depicted many images and ideas by providing them in a complex

structure of long sentences. English rules set for sentence structures differ from the

Czech usual sentence composition, for example English tends to use semicolons much

14

more frequently than it is usual in Czech structure system, which can cause a matter of

dispute when translating English literary texts to Czech. At this point the translation is

very challenging task for translators who should keep the same structure and style of

writing but at the same time transform the text so it is understandable and readable in

the target language. The text should retain its efficiency and readability so it does not

loose its prospective readers in foreign language.

Most of the chapters in the book ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ consist of

paragraphs which contain long complex sentences performing a flow of Robert’s ideas

and thoughts or long descriptions of different situations. Hemingway let his ideas and

thoughts flow which helps to understand the characters and their thinking but on the

other hand it can bring an impression of unimportant prolonging. Many paragraphs

include sentences consisting of many short utterances put together by using semicolons,

as it is corresponded in a following extract.

―Tomorrow night they would be outside the Escorial in the dark along the road; the long

lines of trucks loading the infantry in the darkness; the men, heavy loaded, climbing up

into the trucks; the tanks being run up on the skids onto the long-bodied tank trucks;

pulling the Division out to move them in the night for the attack on the pass.‖

(Hemingway, 1976:15)

„Zítra večer uţ budou stát na temné silnici za Escorialem dlouhé řady nákladních aut,

do kterých bude ve tmě nasedat pěchota; do kamiónů polezou vojáci

s plnou polní, kulometná druţstva budou nakládat do aut kulomety, po liţinách budou

vyjíţdět tanky na dlouhé tankové vlečné vozy; divize se bude v noci přemísťovat k

útoku na průsmyk.― (Valja, 1987:11)

„Zítra v noci snad budou uţ venku z Escorialu, na silnici v temnotě. Dlouhá řada

nákladních vozů, do nichţ nakládají pěchotu; muţi těţce naloţení se šplhají do vozů;

kulometná druţstva zdvíhají do nákladních aut své zbraně; tanky vjíţdějí po lihách na

dlouhé tankové vlečňáky. Divise se potmě řadí k útoku na horské sedlo.― (Sonková,

Zinková, 1947:17)

The piece of text cited above was translated into Czech by the two slightly

different forms of transformation. It is necessary to simplify these long sentences so

they are transformed for the Czech readers into a readable and understandable text as

Sonková and Zinková did in their translation. On the other hand Valja tried to maintain

the original structure by using one relative clause in a unit of long compound sentence

15

and did not divide the whole piece into shorter separated sentences. Sonková and

Zinková chose a different way and decided to translate this piece by dividing it into

three parts. They separated the introductory and the last sentence from this utterance and

remained the central part of the text by using semicolons. Jiří Levý agrees with this fact

by claiming in his “Umění překladu” that the basic translator’s effort is to interpret the

work to the Czech reader, which means to make it comprehensible and provide the text

in an understandable form. This general aim frequently effects even in details. The

translators have an interpreting relationship to the text and that is why they not only

translate but also narrate, make it more logical and intellectualize (1998:68).

Furthermore Levý describes three types of intellectualization. The first of them is to

make the text more logical, the second type is to narrate the unsaid and the third type

concerns the formal expressivity of syntactic relationships (53). The third type is

applicable at the section of text being analyzed from the point of our two Czech

translations. Levý says that the translator tends to explain and formally develop the

short cuts in syntax. The logical relationships among ideas remain frequently

unexpressed in artistic speak. The simple coordinate setting of thoughts placed next to

each other functions with an effect of briskness and naturalness. The translators very

often reveal the hidden relationships among the thoughts, which are only suggested

inside the original text, they fully express them and formally connect with conjunctions

and change the structure from compound to complex sentences. The complex

connections are relatively more frequent in translations than in the original literary texts

and add to the translation a didactic style and lifeless character (148).

Valja definitely tried to preserve the structure of a sentence so he woul not go

very far from the original which apparently Sonková and Zinková did not consider as

the most important thing and did not stay with the original sentence structure.

The individual Czech translations of this one particular piece also differ in the

form of the tense used for the description of the action. Valja stayed constantly in the

form of using a future tense for the whole piece with comparison to Sonková and

Zinková who used the future tense only for the first sentence and then remained with

using a present simple tense which corresponds with the Hemingway’s original

description the most.

16

Sonková and Zinková chose also for other long sentences throughout the book

the way of simplicity when they divided the original sentences into number of shorter

parts. They changed the original structure Hemingway used but it did not affect the final

quality of the translation. Valja almost always kept the original version of sentence

structure which is important for the Czech readers who can see the original style of

Hemingway’s writing even though it sometimes marked the text by leaving it a little bit

clumsy and hard to follow, as it is very clearly visible in a following extract:

„It should be of the highest interest, Anselmo said and hearing him say it honestly and

clearly and with no pose, neither the English pose of understatement nor any Latin

bravado, Robert Jordan thought he was very lucky to have this old man and having seen

the bridge and worked out and simplified the problem it would have been to surprise the

posts and blow it in a normal way, he resented Golz’s orders, and the necessity for

them. ―(Hemingway, 45)

„To je náš nejvyšší zájem, řekl Anselmo, a kdyţ ho to Robert Jordan slyšel říci

upřímně, jasně a bez prózy, jak bez anglické pózy ledabylosti, tak bez románského

chvástání, pomyslel si, ţe je pro něj velkým štěstím mít vedle sebe tohoto starce,

a protoţe si uţ prohlédl most a vyřešil i zjednodušil problém, jak přepadnout stráţné

a vyhodit most normálním způsobem, pocítil silnou nechuť ke Golzovým rozkazům

i k tomu, ţe byly nezbytné. ‖(Valja, 41)

„To bude asi nesmírně zajímavé, řekl Anselmo. Řekl to poctivě a jasně bez přetvářky,

bez anglického podcenění i bez románského bravada. A Robert Jordan si pomyslil, jaké

má štěstí, ţe má po boku tohoto muţe. Teď, kdy uţ viděl most, a vypočítal si, jak

jednoduché by bylo překvapit stráţe a vyhodit most normálním způsobem, bouřil se

proti Golzovým rozkazům i jejich nevyhnutelnosti. ―(Sonková, Zinková, 53)

It is important to point out that both of the Czech translations remain all the

characteristics of Hemingway’s narration. The flow of events connected together in one

compound sentence did not change its character even if they were divided into more

short separate sentences in Sonková and Zinková’s version. This choice for

transformation did not leave a serious impact on the final result of translation.

6.2 Introduction of the direct speech

It was already said that Hemingway’s style is typical and original for its

simplicity. He did not use any spectacular, colorful and special words for his

17

descriptions. This chapter is devoted to a study of direct speech introduction in

Hemingway’s book and its translation to Czech.

The book ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ exhibits many conversations and

dialogues. For this purpose Hemingway mostly uses only a typical and usual verb ―say‖

and very rarely he introduces an interview by using a verb ―tell‖, ―ask‖ or ―answer‖. If

the speaker is obvious from the context, there is no introductory verb used.

From the point of view of translating the dialogues, the translators´ task is to

preserve the original meaning and maintain the same verbs in the translated version. The

two Czech translations do not always follow this pattern and enrich the text by

substituting the original simple verbs by different ones. It is certainly true that

a translator must prove a certain stylistic sense or talent when transforming texts to

a target language but there is a question, where the border ends up and where it is

necessary to translate the exact words which have a parallel equivalent in the target

language.

Levý in his ―Umění překladu” writes that a language of the artwork and

a language of the translation do not directly correspond. The language means of two

languages are not equivalent and that is why it is not possible to translate mechanically.

The meanings and their esthetic values do not cover each other in their sense (59). It is

absolutely true and the translators must be aware of this problematic, but it is not

a problem of transforming the equivalently corresponding verbs like ―say‖, ―tell‖ and

others.

The two Czech translations differ in the attitude of translating the verbs

introducing a person who speaks in the dialogues. Valja deviated from the original form

of verbs many times, he used different verbs in the dialogues and did not stay with

Hemingway’s original. Valja substituted the verb ―say‖ by a variety of verbs as for

example in chapter three:

―They seem so, Robert Jordan said―(Hemingway, 41)

―Zdá se, odpověděl Rober Jordan‖ (Valja, 36)

― Zdá se, ţe ano, řekl Robert Jordan‖(Sonková, Zinková, 48)

―I will respond for thee, Robert Jordan told him.‖ (Hemingway, 44)

18

―Já si tě vezmu na starost, ujistil ho Robert Jordan.‖ (Valja, 40)

― Zaručím se za tebe, řekl mu Robert Jordan.‖ (Sonková, Zinková 53)

―Eat anyway‖, Robert Jordan told him.‖ (Hemingway, 286)

―Jen jez, radil mu Robert Jordan.‖ (Valja, 274)

― Radši se najez, řekl Robert Jordan.‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 353)

The choice of individual verbs differs in both Czech translation and it is

important to realize if it is a problem of finding options or if it is a deviation from the

transformation of Hemingway´s work and his style. According to Levý in ―Umění

překladu‖, the most creative task of a translator is at the moments where the highest

possibilities for a choice exist. The aspect of translation is unambiguously settled for

some language means because the target language posses only one equivalent,

elsewhere, which is mostly for the more complicated and higher units the probability of

more equivalent choices exist (61). In this case Valja probably felt a desire to variegate

and enrich the translations but he did not realize that a briefness and curtness which is

typical for Hemingway must be preserved in these particular examples of translation. As

Levý further on develops about translating, a discovery and a choice begin exactly

there, where a translator has more stylistic options available and must decide among

them according to the context (80), which is certainly not a case of Valja´s translations

of introductory verbs.

6.3 Means of emotively colored expressions

Hemingway tried to draw the attention of the reader by different means. One of

the most important means Hemingway used was a usage of Spanish in many dialogues

throughout the book. One of the aims was probably to draw near the background of the

setting and to drag the readers in so they realize the authenticity of the novel. The aim of

this chapter is to concentrate only on Spanish swear-words, vulgarisms, and phrases and

their translations into Czech.

As Dagmar Knittlová describes in her book “K teorii a praxi překladu”,

vulgarisms belong to taboo words but it naturally depends on the time and society and

their set borders for distinguishing between the terms of permitted and forbidden. This

19

aspect has to be taken in consideration when approaching every translation of a literary

work. The connotation between vulgarity and taboos is also unstable. The higher the

frequency of a vulgarism the more is the meaning of a vulgarism diminishing and

a taboo disappearing. That is why it is important to always take into account a wide

language and side-language context and respect a pragmatic aspect when analyzing and

evaluating the individual translations. (2003:65)

The main character young Robert Jordan, a professor of Spanish at American

university, speaks Spanish fluently but he continues to think in his native tongue. Jordan

also does not have any problems with understanding a slang of guerillas´ language, as

well as he does not have any difficulties with understanding the frequent swear-words

said by the guerillas in the mountains. Hemingway cites many swear-words in Spanish

such as: ―cabron‖, (= lump), ―maricon‖ (=buzerant), and many others. The meaning of

the words does not have such an impact when they are cited in Spanish than if they were

written in English. The words do not have such an insulting effect which was probably

one of the other reasons Hemingway decided for their Spanish version. At the time

Hemingway wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, it would not be acceptable to edit a book

containing a long list of inappropriate words.

Other emotively colored means are expressed by vulgar words used throughout

the book.

―Long live Anarchy and Liberty and I obscenity in the milk of the Republic!‖

(Hemingway, 112)

―I obscenity in the milk of thy Republicanism‖ (Hemingway, 105)

―Down with the miscalled Republic and I obscenity in the milk of your fathers.‖

(Hemingway, 104)

―Ať ţije anarchie a svoboda a republika mi můţe něco‖ (Valja, 106)

„Jdi se s tím tvým republikánstvím bodnout.― (Valja, 99)

„Ať zhyne ta vaše nechci říct jaká republika a to vaše potentovaný plemeno s ní!―

(Valja, 98)

―Ať ţije anarchie a svoboda a seru na Republiku!‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 137)

20

„Vyseru se ti na tvé republikánství.― (Sonková, Zinková, 129)

„Ať zhyne zasraná Republika a seru na děti vašich otců!― (Sonková, Zinková, 128)

The word obscenity is defined in ―American Heritage New Dictionary of

Cultural Literacy‖ as:

―Behavior, appearance, or expression (such as films and books) that violate accepted

standards of sexual morality. American courts have long tried to define obscenity but

without much success. Some believe, for example, that any depiction of nudity is

obscene; others would argue that nudity in itself is not obscene.‖(www.dictionary.com)

English-Czech dictionary provides a Czech equivalent for obscenity as: oplzlost,

nemravnost. In English the word obscenity exists as a verb as well. The phrase

―obscenity yourself‖ is used and means fuck yourself, which sounds much more vulgar

and was obviously purposefully avoided by Hemingway. Even though he used less

vulgar expressions, he still preserved the exact form of speech of the Spanish characters

that would not probably use a less expressive form of naming.

The two Czech translations differ significantly in the transformation of the

emotively colored words and phrases. For analyzing the differences between these two

forms of transformation, it is important to realize the times when the translations were

created and the unwritten norms and rules the society dictated then.

The first translation done by Sonková and Zinková was being formed just when

the Second World War ended. The years after 1945 were affected by the war and most

of the publishing companies wanted to come back and continue with the plans which

were about to be realized before the Second World War. The plans were precluded by

the war years and there was a lack of translations of famous pieces of art from all over

the world. Even though the Soviet Union books and their translations were promoted

and pushed to be advantaged after the WW II., certain editorial plurality still allowed

the pre-war plans to be realized. The readers’ interest in war books played an important

role and helped to support the origin of new Czech translations from different language

groups. The theme of war experience was relevant and dominated in the original Czech

writing production as well as in the translated literature. The topic of war was open and

the political situation allowed free translations without controlling the exact contents of

21

the books. This is a reason why Sonková and Zinková could translate the emotively

colored words equivalently and were able to do their work without any restrictions.

Their translation of vulgar and indecent words is relevant and corresponds with the

original.

Valja’s translation was brought out sixteen years later after the first Czech

translation. The former Czechoslovakia was covered by a time of deep Communism and

this period of time definitely influenced the translation by placing restrictions and

controls for the content of the book. Generally, translation of American writers was not

approved but Hemingway and his book “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was a world well

known piece of art highly recommended for a school education. Valja’s translation of

―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ became a book delivered to school libraries and read by

Czech pupils as compulsory reading. These two reasons probably affected the form of

emotively colored expressions and forced Valja to incline to the formation of less

expressive meanings. He translated the vulgar and rude words by their absolute

avoidance and substituted them by simple Czech imitations of non-vulgar words. Even

though Valja avoided the vulgar words, the meaning of their substitutes is more than

relevant and suggests truthfully the real sense.

6.4 The uniqueness of the text caused by the specialties of

Spanish setting and language

Hemingway indicates throughout the whole text that the characters speak

Spanish among each other. ―Hemingway’s most extensive experiment in dialogue, one

I judge highly successful‖ writes S. N. Grebstein in ―Hemingway’s Craft”, is the

transliteration of Spanish into English in “For Whom the Bell Tolls””(1973:125). He

used two ways how to imply this fact. The characters speak to each other by using

second person as the familiar form of address, which is no longer a valid form of

addressing in English with comparison to Spanish. The text also contains direct Spanish

citations. Grebstein further on develops that ―this is Hemingway’s own innovation, the

culmination of those effects he had ventured in “A Farewell to Arms”‖ (125).

22

―Whether or not Hemingway is entirely faithful or accurate in rendering Spanish idiom

into the exact English equivalent makes an interesting but not wholly relevant question,

and one answerable and important only to the bilingual reader. From the standpoint of

craft and the concern of an English-speaking audience, the vital question is how the

dialogue functions in the novel and what it contributes to the overall aesthetic effect.‖

(Grebstein, 125)

Grebstein posed a question whether the function of Spanish in the dialogues

fulfills its purpose. It is already stated in the previous chapter that Hemingway tried to

assimilate the setting and background to the reader as much as possible and that is why

he used Spanish throughout the whole book. The immediate impact of the Spanish-

English transliteration will register upon anyone who reads the novel. The occurrence of

Spanish makes the characters and their circumstances seem even more distant from the

normal run of things, and so more fascinating. Nevertheless, the occurrence of Spanish

might have a negative impact on some readers, who do not understand Spanish and are

not able to work with their imaginations. Some readers might feel confused or uneasy

when reading a text in a native language with an appearance of foreign words, sentences

and unclear phrases or idioms.

The distinction between familiar thou form and a formal form of addressing does

not cause any problems when translating into Czech language, where the usage of both

of these forms is completely determined. The Czech readers do not have any difficulties

in understanding the switch of formality throughout a text if it is done constantly

without any immediate changes. The two Czech translations approached the problem of

formality in addressing differently and before their translations are analyzed, the history

of English second person pronoun distinction is described.

6. 4. 1 Thou as a form of familiar addressing in an English history

Early Modern English, as with most European languages, used to have a formal

and informal called ―T-V distinction‖. In sociolinguistics, the T-V distinction describes

the situation where a language has second-person pronouns that distinguish different

levels of politeness, social distance, courtesy, familiarity, or insult toward the addressee.

According to the Internet server www.answers.com, ―T-form and V-form were

introduced by Brown and Gilman, based on the initial letters of these pronouns in Latin,

tu and vos.‖ As it is further more developed in the article ―T-V distinction‖ Brown and

23

Gilman presented that the choice of form was governed by either relationships of power

and/or solidarity, depending on the culture of the speakers, showing that power had

been the dominant sign of form in Europe until the twentieth century. Thus it was quite

normal for a powerful person to use a T-form but expect a V-form in return. However in

the twentieth century it was changed, so that people would use T-forms with those they

knew, and V-forms in service encounters, with reciprocal usage being the norm in both

cases. Current English has no T-V distinction but there used to be two versions of the

second person pronoun: "ye" plural and formal singular and "thou" informal singular.

The "thou" form remained its usage in formal occasions, especially for addressing God,

as well as in situations addressing an inferior. "Thine" is the Early Modern English form

of "your" with "thy" being used before words starting with consonants. "Mine" was

often used in place of "my" where Modern English would use "my", especially before

vowel-initial words (mine eyes). Verb conjugations in the "thou" form (second person

informal singular) ended in - (e)st (e.g. "thou takest"). In Early Modern English, third

person singular conjugations ended in - (e)th instead of -s (e.g. "he taketh").

―And knowest thou not what it is for?‖ (Hemingway, 47)

―And unprint thyself.‖ (Hemingway, 47)

Both, the second person informal singular and third person singular lost their endings in

the subjunctive, which utilizes the bare stem of the verb. The change from Middle

English to Early Modern English was not just a matter of vocabulary or pronunciation

changing — it was the start of a new era in the history of English.

6.4. 2 Spanish divergences in addressing

Hemingway retained the Early Modern English form of address for the purpose

of depicting the Spanish atmosphere in his book because Spanish has three second-

person singular pronouns: ―tú‖, ―usted‖, and in some parts of Latin America, ―vos‖ (the

use of this form is called voseo). Generally speaking, ―tú‖ and ―vos‖ are informal and

used with friends (though in Spain vos is considered an archaic form for address of

exalted personages, its use now mainly confined to the liturgy). ―Usted‖ is universally

regarded as the formal form (derived from vuestra merced, "your mercy"), and is used

24

as a mark of respect, as when addressing one's elders or strangers. The pronoun

―vosotros‖ is the plural form of ―tú‖ in most of Spain, although in South America (and

certain southern Spanish cities such as Cádiz, and in the Canary Islands) it is replaced

with ―ustedes‖.

6. 4. 3 Czech translations of addressing

English language in the book “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is interlarded with

Spanish words and phrases. Many sections, especially dialogues and interior

monologues, are written as though they have been translated word-for-word from

Spanish to English and retain the structure and intonation of the Spanish language. The

Czech translations maintain the same tone of a text and remain the Spanish citations of

dialogues without any changes. This problematic is further described and investigated in

a following chapter called Use of Spanish and other foreign citations and their

translations to Czech. The problem which occurs in the translations is a problem of

translating the form of formal and informal addressing. It was a big advantage for the

translators that Czech as well as Spanish distinguishes these two forms of formality so

they did not have any problems with the Early Modern English forms of language. But

both of the translations differ in individual transformation of the dialogues in a way of

different approaching the addressing formality. The translations do not only differ one

from each other but they are not constant in the way of formality in individual

dialogues.

―You can have her in a little while, Inglés, she said. Robert Jordan was sitting behind

her.

Do not talk like that, Maria said.

Yes, he can have thee, Pilar said and looked at neither of them.‖ (Hemingway, 141)

―Za chvilku ji můţeš mít, inglés, řekla.

Nemluv tak, řekla Maria.

25

Ano, můţe tě mít, odpověděla Pilar, nedívajíc se ani na jednoho, ani na druhého.‖

(Valja, 135)

Za chvíli ji můţete mít, Inglés, řekla. Robert Jordan seděl za ní..

Nemluvte tak, řekla Maria.

Ano, můţe tě mít, řekla Pilar a nehleděla na něho ani na ní. (Sonková, Zinková, 175)

The form of addressing is mainly a sociological problem which is penetrated by

social hierarchy, age differences and personal relationships of various kinds, for

example: haughty and others. Addressing is also influenced by certain historical phases

of development. It is interesting to monitor how a deep social transformation goes along

with mainly single and mass changes in addressing. The institutionalized addressing

―Comrade‖ typical for Communism raised from the speech of followers of a political

party and extended to the public life (school, army, official communication).

Sonková and Zinková decided for a higher formality when translating these

dialogues. They assumed that Maria as a young polite girl who considers Pilar as an

older respectful woman replaces Maria’s mother. Pilar takes care of Maria, gives

advices, teaches her how to behave among men and generally helps her to cope with her

life’s destiny. Maria appreciates Pillar’s help and care, listens to advices and tries to

follow her guidance. Maria uses the polite form of addressing Pilar to show a form of

adoration towards Pilar. On the other hand, Pilar is not on formal terms with Maria,

which is fully understandable in Czech context because it has always been usual that an

older lady has a different attitude towards young girl.

The same case appears when concentrating on the Pilar’s attitude towards

addressing Jordan. Sonková and Zinková decided for a formal way and by their

translation the reader can anticipate that Pilar has esteem for Robert Jordan even though

he is much younger than her. He is a man with a certain respect which Pilar honors.

Valja approached this problem differently. He did not consider relationship

between Pilar and Maria so serious from Maria’s side towards Pilar as Sonková and

Zinková did. More reasons and explanations might exist for this particular Valja’s

26

attitude. Pilar is Maria’s friend and even though the age difference between them is

pretty great, their relationship is friendly and familiar. Maria adores Pilar for her

qualities of being a smart and experienced woman who helps her to get over her bad

past experience. The second reason for familiar addressing can be the Czechoslovakian

political situation at those times. Valja translated this book in times of Socialism, where

a habit of use of the second person as the familiar form of address was normally

practiced. Every ―Comrade‖ behaved to other ―Comrades‖ as a friend even though the

reality was much different. That is why he avoided any formalities and stayed in the

Communist approach. The third argument may come along when thinking about

Hemingway and his view on Communist order. He was under Communist discipline for

the whole duration of the Spanish Civil War; he accepted it and respected it as the only

possible one. Valja identified with this Hemingway’s belief and could be influenced by

that when translating the form of formality in addressing.

Jiří Valja viewed the problem of addressing Robert Jordan from Pilar’s side the

same way as he approached addressing Maria and Pilar. He decided for an informal way

of addressing when Pilar talks to Jordan probably from the same reasons as those listed

in the previous paragraph.

―You do not want to be shot at carrying that stuff.

―Not even in a joke, the young man said. Is it far?

It is very close. How do they call thee?

Roberto, the young man answered.‖ (Hemingway, 11)

―Jistě bys nerad, aby na tebe stříleli, kdyţ neseš tyhle věci.

Ani kdyby stříleli jenom z legrace, řekl mladý muţ. Je to daloko?

Je to docela blízko. Jak říkájí tobě?‖ (Valja, 7)

―Nechcete přece, aby po vás stříleli, kdyţ tohle nesete.

Ani v legraci ne, řekl mladý muţ. – Je to daleko?

27

Je to velmi blízko. Jak ti říkají?‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 11)

At the very beginning of the book, Robert Jordan meets with an old guerrilla

Anselmo, who shows him the bridge which is planned to be exploded and helps him to

find people in the mountains who would cooperate with Jordan during the preparation

of the action and the explosion as well. The passage cited above is happening just

a while before Robert Jordan meets with a group of guerrillas in their camp. At this

moment, Robert and Anselmo have known each other for a very short time.

Hemingway used two ways of addressing Robert Jordan from Anselomo’s side.

At the beginning of this conversation Anselmo calls Rober Jordan using a pronoun

―you‖ and in the same conversation a few sentences after that he switches from the

pronoun ―you‖ to a no longer used pronoun ―thee‖ which disappeared from an ordinary

usage of English by the 17th

century when it increasingly acquired connotations of

contemptuous address. Therefore the frequency of use of "thou" started to decline, and

it was effectively extinct in the everyday speech of many dialects by the early 18th

century.

The Czech translations by Sonková and Zinková and the second one by Jiří

Valja both differ in the attitude of translating these two forms. Valja did not consider

the relationship between an old Spanish man and a young American as formal enough

to retain the form of informal and a short time after that a formal form of address. He

eased himself the situation and selected just one form of addressing in this case. The

reason for it can be based in the circumstances of the story. Both of these men fight

against the Fascists and are close to the thinking of the Communist ideology where men

call each other ―Comrade‖ and are on the first name terms without any formality.

Valja’s translation originated during the Communist’s time which could support him for

a decision of translating the addressing in an informal form of address. The second

translation done by Sonková and Zinková approached this particular translational

problem by retaining the same forms of addressing which Hemingway used in the

original work. At the beginning of the translation Sonková and Zinková used formal

way of translating and then continued with an informal way of addressing Robert Jordan

28

by the old guerilla Anselmo. In this particular case, Sonková and Zinková’s translation

is more relevant and equipollent than Valja’s translation.

―You understand now that I command?

Yes Pilar. Yes, he said‖

…‖What passes with thee, Pablo?‖ (Hemingway, 85)

―A pochopils, ţe tu od teďka velím já?‖

Ano Pilar. Ano, povídá.‖

…‖Co je s tebou Pablo?‖ (Valja, 80)

―A chápete, ţe teď poroučím já?

Ano, Pilar, řekl.‖

―Co se s tebou děje, Pablo?‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 105)

This part of an interview is a citation of a dialogue between two partners Pilar

and her man Pablo. Valja again stayed with the same formal way of addressing as

throughout the whole book and Sonková and Zinková translated the interview according

to the Hemingway’s original. In this case, the translators should have taken into

consideration the relationship between these two characters. Valja’s approach is

relevant in this case but Sonková and Zinková’s choice is not equivalent to the setting.

The old debauched guerilla Pablo who has a long-time relationship with the Spanish

gipsy Pilar is addressed in an informal way, which is understandable but a few

sentences after that Pilar calls him in a formal way without any change of the tone of the

same dialogue. They are husband and wife, living together in the mountains during the

war and the formal way of addressing is not likely to be used in this situation. Even

though there used to be times when a married couple practiced a formal way of

addressing each other, but this historical fact does not correspond to this case and

Sonková and Zinková should have taken the relationship and situation in this

occurrence into account.

29

The difference in translating the problematic of Early Modern English way of

addressing and today’s way of addressing which Hemingway used to assimilate the

Spanish setting appears throughout the whole book.

6.5 Use of Spanish and other foreign citations and their

translations to Czech

All the Spanish citations that occur in the book “For Whom the Bell Tolls” are

printed in italics. This feature remains its original form without any changes in all

Czech translations.

―Qué cos mas rara, the gypsy said‖ (Hemingway, 223)

―Inglés‖ (Hemingway, 223)

―De la muerte, Pilar said‖ (Hemingway, 224)

―Qué cosa más rara, řekl cikán‖ (Valja, 214)

―inglés‖ (Valja, 215)

―De la muerte, řekla Pilar‖ (Valja, 216)

“Qué cos mas rara, řekl cikán‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 276)

―Inglés‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 277)

―De la muerte, řekla Pilar‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 277)

All the translators retained the same form of Spanish citations in italics for their

translations. There are only some graphical differences in Valja’s translation, when he

did not keep a dialogue address of Robert Jordan ―inglés‖ with the capital letter ―I‖.

―Nous sommes foutus. Oui. Comme toujours. Oui. C’est dommage. Oui. It’s shame it

came too late.‖ (Hemingway, 375)

30

―Nous sommes foutus. Oui. Comme toujours. Oui. C’est dommage. Oui. To je smůla, ţe

topřišlo moc pozdě.‖ (Valja, 360)

―Nous sommes foutus. Oui. Comme toujours. Oui. C’est dommage. Oui. Škoda, ţe to

přišlo příliš pozdě‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 467)

The French citations are also written in italics and copied the same way in the same

form in both Czech translations.

6.6 The importance of adequacy

One of the most important jobs of the translator is to cope with the cultural

realia. There are linguistic and extralinguistic aspects that obstruct to reach adequacy in

fiction translation. As Khatuna Beridze describes on her web page

http://www.beridze.com, semantic information of the text differs essentially from the

expressive-emotional information of the text but they have one common feature: both

can bear and provide extralinguistic information. Extralinguistic information often

becomes a problem to stumble over by a translator. Misunderstanding or

misinterpretation of the extralinguistic information means to misinterpret:

1. Either what was actually communicated in the source language text, that

means the pragmatic core of the source language text may be lost or therefore in the

target language text incongruity may arise for the recipient reader.

2. Or there may be misrepresented the author's communicative intention, the

social context of the scene/situation as well as disposition or relationships of the

communication act participants (www.beridze.com).

Both semantic and pragmatic inadequacies are mistakes which can pose

a recipient reader to the problem of cultural misunderstanding and the problem of

translating realia can be applied as a typical example.

―Anselmo followed him at a hundred yards distance.‖ (Hemingway, 41)

―Anselmo šel asi sto metrů za ním.‖ (Valja, 37)

31

―Anselmo šel za ním ve vzdálenosti asi sta yardů‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 49)

Hemingway expressed the linear measure in yards, which is used in a number of

different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary

units. Its size can vary from system to system. A yard is three feet or 36 inches. The

most commonly used yard today is the international yard which by definition is equal to

0.9144 meter. Nowadays the yard is used as the standard unit of field length

measurement in both the American and Canadian games of football (although Canada

has officially adopted the metric system).

Valja decided for a transformation of the word ―yard‖ into a Czech metric

system by retaining the same amount but assigning it with a unit typical for our culture.

One meter is almost the same as one yard; to be mathematically accurate it is little bit

less which Valja probably did not consider too important for this context.

Sonková and Zinková did not assimilate the linear measure to a Czech national

metric system and retained the form of yards. They just changed the form of the word

―yard‖ by using inflection. As stated in the paragraph above the international yard is

equal to 0, 9144 meter used in the Czech context, which could also be a reason for

keeping the same original form of the word. On the other hand, the Czech reader may

not be able to realize the amount of one hundred yards at the moment of reading, which

may cause some misunderstandings or obscurities.

6. 7 Comparison of the extent of one individual part of text

The last part of the research focused on the differences between the two Czech

translations in one section of the text in the third chapter. The point of this research was

to find out the difference in the amount of words used in the original work with

comparison to two Czech translations and finding the reasons for such divergence.

The extent variants of translation are caused by substantial interferences in the

original text. The ordinary translations should be transformed in a way which tries to

retain the original extent, form and content. The original text extent is either compressed

or it is expanded. Both of these operations change the original works composition and

character.

32

The extent of Hemingway’s monitored piece of text from the third chapter is

seven hundred and fifty-eight words. Valja translated the same amount of text by using

six hundred and eighteen words and Sonková and Zinková needed five hundred and

fifty-nine words. When comparing the amount of words it is important to compare the

Czech two translations individually because English is an analytic language and is much

more explicit than the Czech language which is synthetic and has a complex declination

and conjugation system. As Knittlová says, the analytical designation is usually explicit;

the main modifying article is expressed by special words in comparison to compressed

synthetic Czech designations where the modifying article is included in the word-

forming base. Analytical language expresses an evaluating attitude, which can be either

positive or negative by using a compound word, as it is visible in a following example:

an old man = a compound of two words with an indefinite article, the Czech language

can use just one word for this expression: děda (36)

Knittlová further on develops that stylistic connotations can also represent

a relationship of formal difference. An unmarked English noun can be connected with

a slang adjective, which can be expressive and at the same time evaluating. But the

Czech opposite is a pejorative, expressive and one word equivalent. For example:

crumby place – díra

The analysis of an English connection of words can sometimes be even more

complicated. A one word Czech noun can equal to a three-word English one. Different

cases can accrue, for example: an English pre-modified two-word connection which can

add an adjective suffix –y in an adjective function: ―in a little bitty while‖ having the

Czech equivalent as a one word expression ―za chviličku‖.

In other cases English uses two adjectives for expressing emotional evaluation,

on the other hand the evaluating parts are included in one substantive denomination in

Czech: ―a big old car‖ = ―bourák‖

The analysis of English is also expressed in cases of English verbs which are

equal to Czech one word verbs. For example: ―get up‖ = ―vstát‖, ―shout up‖ =

―rozkřiknout se‖ (37).

33

All these aspects, which are described in the previous paragraphs, definitely

influenced the amount of words in individual texts. Hemingway’s piece of text is

unambiguously the longest one because English is an analytical language. The second

part of this chapter concentrates on the individual differences between the two Czech

translations.

―As he watched he took out a notebook from his breast pocket and made several quick

line sketches.‖ (Hemingway, 38) = eighteen words

―Při pozorování vytáhl z náprsní kapsy zápisník a udělal si několik zběţných náčrtků.‖

(Valja, 34) = thirteen words

―Vyňal z náprsní kapsy zápisník a udělal si několik náčrtků.‖ (Sonková, Zinková, 45) =

ten words

Sonková and Zinková’s translation shows that their amount of words used for

one particular part is always the lowest one. This fact is evident from a comparison of

short pieces of texts but also from a comparison of two longer parts translated by Valja

and by Sonková and Zinková. The sentences cited above show that Sonková and

Zinková’s translation omitted the beginning of the original sentence, which is one

consequence of a shorter form and they also omitted the word ―quick‖ in their

translation. They might have accounted the connection ―quick line sketches‖ equal to

one Czech word ―náčrtky‖. Generaly, Sonková and Zinková used this attitude

throughout the whole book. They did not purposefully enrich the translation and always

stayed in terms of shortness and moderation. It is evident that they shortened the

sentences but it did not significantly affect the quality of the translation.

34

7. Results of the research

Hemingway and his masterpiece ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ became a subject

matter for research done to identify and describe the differences in two Czech

translations of his book. His life and style of writing are described at the beginning of

the paper and followed by short theory of translation. The body of this research paper

concentrates on some typical features of Hemingway’s writing which were analyzed

from the point of two Czech translations.

The comparison of the book ―For Whom the Bell Tolls‖ in two Czech

translations concentrated on some typical features which appear in Hemingway’s

original. The research focused on six features which occur in the work and could be

analyzed for the purpose of this bachelor paper.

Hemingway’s style is unmistakable thanks to its limited use of words which are

connected to create long narrated passages which express the characters’ flow of

thoughts. A. Sonková and Z. Zinková simplified the long passages and made them more

readable for the Czech readers. They for example divided one long passage into three

parts by separating the beginning and the final sentences. The division of the passages

changed the Hemingway’s original intention and did not retain his stylistic purpose. Jiří

Valja stayed as close as possible to the original version and tried to retain all the

passages in its unique form.

Direct speech addressing became a second object of studying the differences in

the two Czech translations. Hemingway used many dialogues throughout the entire

book and for introducing the speaker in the dialogue he used only a narrow spectrum of

verbs. Sonková and Zinková translated the introductory verbs identically with no

attempts to enrich the writing. Valja did not realize the importance of originality and

most of the times substituted the introductory verbs for different ones with a changed

meaning.

The occurrence of emotively colored expressions is very frequent in

Hemingway’s book; the two Czech translators who collaborated on the first Czech

translation of this work did not hide the real meanings and used obscene words for equal

35

relevance of the original. Jiří Valja did not transform the obscene expressions in the

same way. His translation is much more careful with these expressions and he did not

use any vulgarisms.

The difference between formal and informal addressing became another issue

from the point of view of this research. Hemingway used an Early Modern English form

of addressing which is no longer used in English but it is used in Spanish as well as in

Czech. Sonková and Zinková translated mechanically and with no deviation all the

formal and informal addresses the same way they were used in Hemingway’s original.

Valja chose a different attitude and translated this problem differently. Most of the time

he stayed with an informal address which does not correspond with Hemingway’s

original.

The problem of realie concerning an example of expressing numbers in linear

measures is also approached differently in both Czech translations. Sonková and

Zinková retained the original Anglo-American linear measure of yards on the contrary

to Valja, who changed yards to meters which are more familiar to Czech readers.

The last subject of the research became a comparison of the amount of words

used in one particular part of text. The results showed that Valja’s translation was

purposefully enriched in many ways and it does not retain the original briefness and

shortness. Sonková and Zinková’s translation is done with reference to briefness but it

is sometimes shortened more than required.

The final results of the research illustrate that the differences in individual Czech

translations were influenced by many aspects. Sonková and Zinková translated the book

shortly after the Second World War when the former Czechoslovakia did not have

available foreign books published abroad with a great success. The political situation

was different from the time when Valja did his translation which definitely influenced

some of the aspects of the individual works. Hemingway’s book ―For Whom the Bell

Tolls‖ became world famous and was recommended a compulsory school reading at

Czech schools, which definitely influenced Valja’s translation as well. He had to

assimilate the language to specific needs of the school environment. Another result of

the research showed that Sonková and Zinková tried to translate the individual specifics

36

of Hemingway’s writing with the highest possible equivalency with comparison to

Valja who sometimes changed the original Hemingway’s style.

Both of these two Czech translations used for a purpose of this bachelor paper

were done by very qualified and experienced translators who approached the work with

some differences but the final results did not mark the quality of the world well-known

masterpiece written by an excellent author Ernest Hemingway.

37

Resumé

Ernest Hemingway a jeho dílo „Komu zvoní hrana“, které bylo třikrát přeloţeno

do českého jazyka se staly předmětem zkoumání této bakalářské práce. Ernest

Hemingway, drţitel Nobelovy a Pulitzerovy ceny za literature napsal v letech 1939-

1940 román, který pojednává o španělské občanské válce, které se sám Hemingway

účastnil jako válečný korespondent. Anglická verze knihy „For Whom the Bell Tolls― se

stala překladatelským cílem čtyř českých překladatelů. Čeští čtenáři se dočkali prvního

vydání překladu knihy „For Whom the Bell Tolls― v roce 1946. Toto první české vydání

vzniklo díky spolupráci dvou autorek A. Sonkové a Z. Zinkové. Druhý překlad vznikl

v roce 1958, jehoţ autorem je Alois Humplík. A nejnovější verze překladu tohoto

celosvětově známého díla vyšla z rukou Jiřího Valji v roce 1962, jehoţ vydání dále

upravila a vydala Marie Fojtová.

Hlavním cílem této bakalářské práce bylo porovnat dvě verze českých překladů

díla „Komu zvoní hrana―. Pro účely práce byly záměrně vybrány verze nejstarší, jejíţ

autorkami jsou A. Sonková a Z. Zinková a dále verze nejnovější, jejíţ autorem je Jiří

Valja.

První část této práce se zaměřuje na samotný ţivot Ernesta Hemingwaye,

protoţe pro další rozbor bylo nutné znát okolnosti vzniku jeho díla a vliv prostředí na

samotného autora. V další kapitole je stručně zmíněn ţivot a tvorba překladatele

nejnovější verze románu „Komu zvoní hrana“ Jiřího Valji. Překladatelky nejstarší verze

tohoto díla nejsou zařazeny v databázi překladatelů Obce překladatelské a bohuţel

o nich nejsou známy ţádné bliţší informace. Pro rozbor a porovnání dvou českých

překladů bylo dále nutné vyhranit základní charakteristiky psaní a znaky tvorby Ernesta

Hemingwaye. V další kapitole se práce stručně zabývá dějem románu „Komu zvoní

hrana― a zmiňuje spojitost postav z románu se skutečnými osobami, které Hemingway

ve svém ţivotě poznal.

Hlavní část této bakalářské práce se věnuje několika základním a specifickým

rysům tohoto díla a sleduje jejich výskyt ve dvou českých překladech, které vznikly

s šestnáctiletým časovým odstupem. Prvním specifickým aspektem, na který se tato

práce zaměřuje se stal častý výskyt dlouhých vypravěčských pasáţí. Tyto pasáţe jsou

38

typické pro obsah sloţitých souvětí, z kterých vznikají odstavce odpovídající toku

myšlenek jednotlivých postav románu. Oba české překlady k tomuto problému

přistupují rozdílně. Překlad Sonkové a Zinkové pasáţe zjednodušuje, ale na úkor

Hemingwayova stylu a Valja přeloţil jednotlivé pasáţe naprosto identicky bez ohledu

na srozumitelnost. Dalším předmětem zkoumání se stala slovesa uvozující přímou řeč,

kterých Hemingway pouţívá jen velmi málo a monotónně se v textu opakují. Oba

překlady přistupují rozdílně k jejich převodu. Sonková a Zinková na rozdíl od Valji text

v tomto ohledu neobohatily a jen ekvivalentně přeloţily slovesa do jejich české podoby.

Další kapitola se věnuje prostředkům emotivně zabarveného vyjadřování a jejich

transformaci do českého jazyka. Sonková a Zinková se neobávaly pouţití českých

nemravných slov, které přesně odpovídají mluvě prostých španělských postav, které

jsou hlavními hrdiny této knihy. Valja přistoupil k překladu těchto slov opatrněji

a záměrně se vyhnul přímému překladu těchto „silnějších― výrazů. Podobným

problémem se zabývá i následující kapitola, ta se věnuje zvláštnostem textu, které jsou

dané osobitým charakterem španělského prostředí a jazyka. Hemingway naznačuje, ţe

osoby mezi sebou mluví španělsky pomocí tykání a vykání, jejichţ rozlišení jiţ

v angličtině neexistuje. Sonková a Zinková přeloţily tyto rozdíly ekvivalentně bez

ohledu na jednotlivé vztahy a postavení mezi postavami a Valja zvolil jednodušší

způsob, kdy všechna oslovení zanechal ve formě tykání. Dalším významným faktorem

Hemingwayova stylu jsou přímé citace v cizích jazycích, zejména ve španělštině.

Všechny tyto citace jsou v obou českých překladech zachovány v uvozovkách tak jako

v originálu. Tématem kapitoly následující se stal převod reálií a problematika

adekvátnosti. Oba překlady mají rozdílný postoj k této problematice, na uvedeném

příkladu je ilustrován rozdíl v tomto přístupu, kdy Sonková a Zinková na rozdíl od Valji

nepřeměnily jednotku yardů na česky běţně uţívané metry a zanechaly jednotku

uţívanou v angloamerickém prostředí. Poslední a závěrečná část této bakalářské práce

se zaměřuje na popis rozdílů v počtech slov a jejich důvodech v jednotlivých

překladech. Na dané části třetí kapitoly bylo zkoumáno který z překladů pouţívá více

slov pro překlad stejné pasáţe s porovnáním originálu. Rozdíl v počtech slov v českých

překladech oproti anglické verzi je celkem markantní coţ je ovlivněno rozdílným typem

obou jazyků. Angličtina je analytický jazyk v porovnání s češtinou, která je jazykem

syntetickým. Rozdíl v počtech slov u českých překladů je také celkem velký, coţ můţe

39

být mimo jiné způsobeno rozdílnými přístupy k jazyku a odlišného chápání významu

jednotlivých slov.

Oba české překlady jsou poznamenány určitými rozdíly, které byly způsobeny

dobou vzniku, její politickou situací a dobovým náhledem na jazyk, ale je nutné

podotknout, ţe svými rozdíly nepoznamenaly kvalitu tohoto díla a předaly českým

čtenářům román napsaný takovým způsobem jakým bylo původním záměrem jednoho

z nejúspěšnějších amerických spisovatelů.

40

Bibliography

Baker, Carlos. 2001. Ernest Hemingway. Trans. Klekner, Radim. Praha: BB Art Jiří

Buchal.

Grebstein, Sheldon Norman. 1973. Hemingway’s Craft. USA: Southern Illinois

University Press.

Hemingway, Ernest. 1976. For Whom the Bell Tolls. Bungay: Granada Publishing.

Hemingway, Ernest. 1947. Trans. Sonková, A., Zinková, Z. Komu zvoní hrana. Praha:

Fr. Borový.

Hemingway, Ernest. 1987. Trans. Valja, Jiří. Komu zvoní hrana. Praha: Vyšehrad.

Knittlová, Dagmar. 2003. K teorii i praxi překladu. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého.

Kufnerová, Zlata a kol. 1994. Překládání a čeština. Jinočany: H&H.

Levý, Jiří. 1998. Umění překladu. Praha: Ivo Ţelezný.

Machala, Drahoslav and Milan. 1989. To pravé místo: Reportér Hemingway. Praha:

Novinář.

Popovič, Anton. 1975. Teória umeleckého prekladu. Bratislava: Tatran.

http://www.answers.com/T-V%20distinctions

Beridze, Khatuna. Problem of Equivalency in Translation. [viewed 10 March 2007].

http://www.beridze.com/docs/pet.pg

www.dictionary.com

41

ÚDAJE PRO KNIHOVNICKOU DATABÁZI

Název práce

Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell

Tolls in Czech Translations

Autor práce

Markéta Silná

Obor

Anglický jazyk pro hospodářskou praxi

Rok obhajoby

2007

Vedoucí práce

doc. PhDr. Bohuslav Mánek, CSc.

Anotace

Srovnání dvou přístupů k překladu

Hemingwayova „Komu zvoní hrana“

s přihlédnutím k typickému stylu psaní s

určitými specifiky.

Klíčová slova

Translation, comparison